Shell eyes Marcellus petrochemical site

The company has signed a land option agreement with Horsehead Corp., a specialty zinc producer based in Pittsburgh, for a site in Potter and Center Townships in Beaver County. Horsehead is moving a zinc production operation on the land to facilities under construction in North Carolina.

If Shell exercises the option, Horsehead would have to vacate the site by Apr. 30, 2014.

When it initially disclosed the project last year, it said it was considering a “world-scale” ethane cracker.

It now says it is considering polyethylene and monoethylene glycol units in addition to the ethane cracker.

“The next steps for this project include additional environmental analysis of the preferred Pennsylvania site, further engineering design studies, assessment of the local ethane supply, and continued evaluation of the economic viability of the project,” Shell said in a press statement.